The church is called House of Rainbow, however, it has nothing to do with the biblical rainbow that appeared after Noah and his family escaped the flood.
Rather, this unusual religious gathering, which is known as the first gay church in Nigeria, is most likely named after the colours of the rainbow which is the same as that of the (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer) LGBTQ movement.
Homosexuality is a topic that sparks heavy controversy in Nigeria. Majority of the population is strongly against it while acts of homosexuality will offer you a 14-year jail sentence according to Nigerian law.
The man behind the House of Rainbow movement is Rowland Olajide Macaulay, a reverend who sees himself as an activist. The House of Rainbow has now been in existence for 14 years, headquartered in London, away from the grasp of Nigeria’s anti-homosexuality law.
Although it was founded in Nigeria, there is no record of a physical church structure for House of Rainbow on Nigerian soil. It was founded in September 2006 by Macaulay, Nigeria’s first openly gay pastor. The House of Rainbow church now has its headquarters in London, UK.
In Nigeria, Macaulay ran the church from his home in Jakande Estate, Isolo, Lagos and a “worship space” in Ojodu Berger, Lagos. 32 people were in attendance at the first meeting which took place at Ikeja Capital City Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
On December 31, 2006, House Of Rainbow hosted the largest number of LGBTQ people of faith gathering in Lagos for the New Year’s eve celebration. Over 200 people attended.
The Nigerian house of assembly invited Macaulay in 2007 to speak on the same-sex prohibition bill but he never got the chance to address the chamber.
He fled the country after national newspaper publications emerged about his church in 2008. Following the release of the articles, Macaulay received numerous death threats.
Macaulay once considered committing suicide because of his homophobic family members. He was married to a woman in 1991 and got a divorce in 1994.
There are currently 13 active groups with 17 volunteer local leaders, 11 cities and in 7 countries, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, Lesotho, Burundi, Zambia, and the United Kingdom.
House of Rainbow has two groups dedicated to LGBTQ Muslims in Nigeria and Ghana respectively. The religious organisation has performed over 10 same-sex weddings or blessings in the past 10 years in Europe and Africa.
House Of Rainbow has printed and distributed over 10,000 copies of pocket Devotional for LGBTQ Christians. The religious gathering now includes fellowships to LGBTQ Christians and Muslims.
Macaulay, who is the backbone of the movement, is not secretive of the meeting places and time of the church in Nigeria but has instituted a very strict process to screen prospective members of coming to join the church.
It was learnt that aside Nigeria, the church has two groups each in Ghana and the United Kingdom (UK).
“We now have new groups in Malawi and Ghana. There are currently three groups in Nigeria, two each in Ghana and the UK and one each in Malawi, Lesotho and Burundi,” Macaulay said.
“All these groups are managed by volunteers, who are appointed through a rigorous ‘Local Leader Application’ process. We currently have 12 appointed Local Leaders in 6 countries.”
“Currently, we have over 25 outstanding applications for local leaders including, but not limited to the following locations: France, Netherlands, Cote d’Ivoire. This has continued to strengthen the interest and work of House Of Rainbow particularly in Africa.”
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